I have always enjoyed finding and sharing memes online or on Facebook and sharing them with friends or colleagues. It was not until I was reading Chapter 2 of Arguments in the Real World that I realized using memes in the classroom could be valuable. “Meme" is a term that was first noted in Richard Dawkins' book, The Selfish Gene, according to Marcus in the video below (TEDx Talks, 2017).
Memes have also become a great way to engage students and promote learning in a fun and exciting way. Turner & Hicks give an example of a third-grade teacher, Kristen, using memes as the subject of her lesson (2017). She asked her students to brainstorm about “what writing is” and showed memes that had been created using quotations from famous authors (2017). The selected meme ‘used a quote from Henry Miller— “Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery”—paired with an aerial image of a mountain range bordered by two valleys’ (Turner & Hicks, 2017). According to Turner & Hicks, Kristen helped the students understand that the image was carefully paired with the quotation to emphasize the claim that “writing is a voyage of discovery” (2017). After modeling and explaining this process to students, they then had the opportunity to practice the strategy of making a claim by carefully selecting images to be paired with words. Pairs then made their memes to support their own claims about writing using an app called Mematic (Turner & Hicks, 2017). As the teacher noticed a group struggling, she supported their discussion by asking questions about their claim and what kind of picture might represent their claim. After discussion with each other, their peers, and the teacher, the students were able to choose an image that clearly conveyed their claim (Turner & Hicks, 2017).
This website gives many other ways to use memes in your classroom. Maliszewski explains that educators should be mindful of having a discussion about ethics and digital citizenship with students prior to incorporating memes into their lessons or having students create memes (2015). When I think about students creating a meme, it seems like a fairly simple task. However, students will practice critical thinking and higher-order thinking skills to determine and choose the words to appropriately match a picture. Maliszewski goes on to state that "finding the right image and using the right combination of just a few words was more challenging than they originally thought" (2015). Using memes could give students a chance to think critically and apply knowledge and skills they have learned. This also allows students to learn how to defend their choices by making a claim to support their meme (in this case) and how it relates to the topic. This teaches students to have evidence to support their claim as Turner & Hicks discuss in chapter 2 (2017).
Some other ideas of ways to use memes (7 Creative and Smart Ways to Use Memes in the Classroom, 2019):
- Building vocabulary
- Creating class rules and making them more engaging
- Learning grammar rules
- Responding to literature
- Highlight a historical event
- Use as an ice breaker
- Introducing new concepts and units
References
7 Creative and Smart
Ways to Use Memes in the Classroom. (2019, December 20). WeAreTeachers. https://www.weareteachers.com/memes-in-the-classroom/
Dawkins, R. (2016). The selfish gene.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Do Memes Make the Internet a Better Place?
(2020, February 11). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/learning/do-memes-make-the-internet-a-better-place.html
Gipe, J.P. & Richards, J.C. (2019). Multiple paths to literacy: Assessement and differentiated instruction for diverse learners, K-12. NY: Pearson.
Maliszewski, D. (2019, January 30). Using
Memes in the Classroom: Prompts and Considerations. Association for Media
Literacy. https://aml.ca/using-memes-in-the-classroom-prompts-and-consideration/
Own Your Brain. (2014). What is a Meme [YouTube
Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCHnyMS-Ea4
TEDx Talks. (2017). What Are Memes Really? |
Marcus . | TEDxYouth@HCIS [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hU4mzq0d1Q
Brittney,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a wonderful job of discussing memes and the deeper thought that goes into creating and developing memes. I found it very interesting how memes can be utilized to create meaningful conversations among students in order to support their claims (Turner & Hicks, 2017). As an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher, I am always exploring ideas from that angle, and I can see many benefits from students engaging in the types of activities presented in chapter two such as: speaking/writing practice, engagement in meaningful conversation with others, and vocabulary building. According to Yuan et al. 2019 “ digital spaces that facilitate product sharing can also be a source of social empowerment for ELLs” (p.133). I could visualize my English Language Learners (ELLs) working impairs to create memes, and this will not only create an atmosphere of engagement, but also critical thinking skills. In addition, I believe this is an activity that is relevant to our current social and digital environment, and students would really find the experience meaningful.
References:
Turner, K. H., & Hicks, T. (2017). Argument in the real world: teaching adolescents to read and write digital texts. Heinemann.
Yuan, C., Wang, L., & Eagle, J. (2019). Empowering English Language Learners through Digital Literacies: Research, Complexities, and Implications. Media and Communication, 7(2), 128–136. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v7i2.1912
Brittney,
ReplyDeleteI have never thought about using memes in my classroom, other than for a quick laugh or to post on the board for fun. But researching articles to use in my response gave me some incredible ideas for using memes to teach critical thinking in my logic unit. And this year, due to Covid distancing, etc, I have really struggled with ways to teach my normally 100% group work unit!
According to Stones (2017) there are classroom activities where students use memes, along with the context that they were born of, to teach students to think critically about what they are reading/viewing. Hopefully this will help students to not just blindly repost the online content.
Critical thinking is the beginnings of analysis which is an enormous part of higher secondary mathematics courses. These meme activities would be a great beginning of the year, ice-breaker type activity!
Thank you for stretching my world!
References
Stones, E. (2017). "Nobody puts baby in a binder": Using memes to teach visual reason. Communication Teacher, 31(3), 137-142. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n1p61
YOUR BLOG IS SO NEAT!!
ReplyDeleteI love memes! I use memes for everything!
According to Reyes, "Increasingly, we are moving from text-based forms of information to visual one..." Memes have become very popular over the years due to its humor and how effective it is when getting a point across without much text. I love how you stated that memes allow students to think critically. Being able to pair a visual image with your own quote requires you to think critically! Trust me, I have tried! Also, being able to apply memes into the classroom is great! Kids love memes, they understand them more than most adults! As teachers, we are always thinking of ways to engage our students. Being able to use memes for vocabulary, classroom rules, grammar, or responding to literature are awesome tips! I will be sure to implement memes into my classroom.
References
Memes and GIFs as Powerful Classroom Tools: Faculty Focus. (2018, November 26). https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/memes-and-gifs-as-powerful-classroom-tools/.